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Tabletop Monday: Star Realms

Happy Monday, nerds! So let’s be honest, Mondays basically suck, so I’m starting a new, monthly post here on the blog called Tabletop Monday (obvs). I’ll be talking about the game that I’m obsessed with that month, and why you should play it! This month is all about the awesome, space-themed, deck-building game Star Realms.

I had never heard of Star Realms before the amazing Elizabeth at Oak & Oats sent the game to me for Christmas along with a freaking awesome planner I won from a drawing she held on her blog…

…anyway, I got a chance to play the game over the weekend, and I have got to say that it was completely a blast. The game is incredibly compact, everything fitting into a pretty small box, but it is actually a surprisingly complex and addicting game.

I’ll be honest, when we first set out to play the game, the Hubs and I had a bit of a challenge understanding the rules. So, after reading the rules a few times, we turned to the iTunes app of the game, and went through the tutorial with the app. Seeing the game laid out in a live, tangible version always makes a lot more sense to us than reading a long list of rules. Star Realms also has a pretty thorough Youtube video that walks you through the game, if using an app isn’t your style.

Once we got a hang of the rules, we played a few rounds, and we had an absolute BLAST. After only a couple of games, I saw how complex and intricate the game could get, and how much strategy could be involved in playing. My other favorite part of this game is that it is designed to last about 20 minutes–though ours took a bit longer since we were learning–and it’s meant for two people to play.

I love, love, love tabletop games, but so many of them are designed for at least three people. While that is perfect for a game night, it can be a bit of a bummer that you can’t play a game on any old night when it’s just you and your man hanging out at home. So I get really excited when I find a fun, engaging tabletop game that is made for two people to play. And if you aren’t a fan of physical games or you don’t have a permanent tabletop buddy, the game is, like I said before, available on iTunes and other digital formats. I love it when a really fun tabletop game is also made into a digital version so I can play it whenever or wherever the mood strikes me.

I lost this game. Big time.

Star Realms is a must-have for anyone who loves deck-building games, or anyone who loves playing new, awesome games. Beyond just being fun, Star Realms is also a bit unique in that, unlike a lot of other deck-building games, this game is all about getting your opponent’s score down to zero rather than attempting to collect the most victory points. So it adds a bit of fun, overt competitiveness rather than trying to shrewdly, stealthily collect the most victory points. I’m all about overt competitiveness.

In short, this game is awesome, and I highly recommend it. You can check out the Star Realms website to find out where you can get your own copy of the game, or how you can download the digital version if a physical game isn’t your style.

Have you played Star Realms? What did you think? What tabletop games are you obsessing over right now? What’s on your to-play list? Let me know in the comments!

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2 thoughts on “Tabletop Monday: Star Realms”

Definitely tucking this away as a gift idea for the hubs. We too, are always on the lookout for good two player board games! And we both love deck-building games, so this sounds like it’s right up our alley. Thanks!